 B | P. Achiuwa26 MIN, 6 PTS, 10 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 2-9 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2- FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -1 +/- Precious is still having trouble finishing at the rim (shot 1-7 in the first half) but he was more under control. Forced the issue on an offensive rebound instead of kicking out to a shooter once. Did a great job on the glass. Birch started the second half for Precious once again, but the difference is this time Achiuwa deservedly re-entered the game later on. Massive throwdown near the end of the third. Highlight reel block too. | |
 A | O. Anunoby40 MIN, 21 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 3 STL, 9-20 FG, 3-5 3FG, 0- FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, +5 +/- Missed his first four shots, but was on after that. Every game OG does something to make you say wow – on both ends. Made an impressive midrange step back in the third quarter during one of those “you’re the star, do something” possessions. Daggers. We’re getting very used to it. | |
 A+ | F. VanVleet43 MIN, 33 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 13-22 FG, 3-6 3FG, 4- FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, +15 +/- Steady Freddy. You know how some guys have that reputation for playing at their own pace unbothered? Fred led the team beautifully in that way. Perfect balance knowing when to score and pass. He started the game trying to get teammates involved. Great example was making sure Precious got a lob on the first possession. Then he start to put his stamp on things scoring wise in the second and third quarters, routinely killing the Wizards mini-runs. Once again taking those shots from the elbow that will present themselves. Banking in fadeaways against the shot clock? Tonight was Fred’s night. Season-high 33 points. When do we worry about the minutes though? | |
 B+ | S. Mykhailiuk35 MIN, 15 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 4-8 FG, 2-4 3FG, 6- FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 0 +/- What a smooth transition by Svi into the starting lineup the last couple of games. Savvy cutter, he’s been the most consistent shooter on the team and has played solid defence too. I’m personally adjusting to Svi, the athleticism, shot creation off the dribble and perimeter D has thrown me off to begin the season. Way more to his game than I expected. A couple of careless plays in the fourth, fouling Beal from three and doing too much on a fastbreak for a turnover, but solid nonetheless. Has scored at least 15 in three straight games. | |
 B+ | G. Trent Jr.34 MIN, 15 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL, 6-16 FG, 2-8 3FG, 1- FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -3 +/- Scary Gary? Or am I kind of biting off Scary Terry (Rozier)? He’s a pest on the ball defensively man. Those open threes he was missing in the first few games are starting to fall. Great job with shot selection, just one ummm? shot and it went in anyway. Percentages tailed off as the game went on but plenty of positives here. | |
 B | C. Boucher17 MIN, 5 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-5 FG, 0-2 3FG, 1- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +5 +/- Better energy from Boucher today, who needs a spark of confidence because he may have been twitter searching himself looking for naysayers a couple of nights ago. Those open threes will start falling again. Didn’t take any silly attempts. Runner and one in the second quarter, I’ve never seen Chris take that shot but it worked! | |
 Inc | J. Champagnie3 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +4 +/- Saw spot duty for a few minutes but hard to judge on that. Need a bigger sample size. | |
 A | K. Birch22 MIN, 9 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-6 FG, 0-0 3FG, 4- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +10 +/- The boxscore will never properly illustrate his impact. Great job defending on the perimeter when he had to. One play in particular led to Anunoby jumping the pass for a dunk. Khem’s substitution in the fourth put a foot on the Wizards necks, with short roll floaters and a pass to OG for three when the roll was covered. | |
 B+ | M. Flynn3 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +5 +/- Received the same amount of minutes as Champagnie but made a solid play in the Raptors second quarter run. Pushed the ball after a rebound to find Mykhailiuk for three to put the Raptors up 14. Just has to keep doing the little things to impress in spot minutes. | |
 B+ | D. Banton17 MIN, 5 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 2-2 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2- FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, +5 +/- Pushing the pace every possible chance once again. Sometimes can be out of control but it creates chaos. Really smooth floater from near the free throw line in the second quarter. If Dalano already has that in his game, that can be a weapon. Also stole an inbound pass that led to a VanVleet three in the second. Part of the Raptors run to go up in the teens. | |
 A+ | Nick Nurse Handled the distribution of minutes between Achiuwa, Birch and Boucher well. Khem started the second half in place of Precious once again, and then brought him back early fourth after foul trouble which helped sparked a mini run. The Raptors are 6-3 and Pascal Siakam hasn’t touched the court yet. What more do you want? | |
Things We Saw
- The Raptors went a few minutes without scoring late fourth which made this start to turn into a nailbiter, until VanVleet took it coast to coast for a layup. There was a poise tonight that looked NOTHING like the season opener, where everyone looked antsy and out of place. Washington saw a completely different Raptors team.
- The Wizards were 3-0 at home. The Raptors were 3-0 on the road. Something had to give. How’s a franchise first 4 straight W’s on the road to begin the season taste?
